If you ask me what my favorite Jewish holiday is, well, of course I might answer “all of them.” But if you push me hard enough, once I get through Sukkot and Tu Bishvat and Passover…I’ll land on “summer” is my favorite Jewish holiday. (And not just because it’s my last name.)

I love the work I do throughout the year. I have the joy and privilege of working with our teachers and students, helping to craft and create wonderful Jewish learning experiences for people of all ages at Am Shalom. And in the summer, I get to do it in shorts and a t-shirt.

Every summer, I serve on faculty at our Reform Jewish regional summer camp, OSRUI. Many of our Am Shalom students attend the camp, and I love to be their familiar face, their link to home, and to see them in the freedom that is summer camp. Every week, we get to have a day of rest – Shabbat. But camp is like one big Shabbat that happens every summer, allowing us to find unbridled Jewish joy in every aspect of the day.

From the moment we wake up to Israeli rock music, camp feels Jewish. We share Hebrew songs and prayers, sing the Motzi before we eat a meal that isn’t called breakfast but instead “aruchat boker” (that’s breakfast in Hebrew!),  we go to the Agam (lake) for schiyah (swimming) – every step is done with Jewish intention and care. Our middot (values) are embedded in everything we do, and for many kids, it’s the first time they’ve been surrounded, non-stop, by a living, breathing Jewish community.

I know it was like that for me, when I was a camper there. From the moment I got out of my parents’ car, I knew that OSRUI was going to be a special part of my life. I’d always felt different, a little bit outside, until I stepped into a place where being Jewish was normal and celebrated. Not everyone who goes to OSRUI becomes a rabbi, but it certainly was an important piece of my path.

Each summer, I get to put on my silly Hebrew pun t-shirts and bring a little piece of Am Shalom to OSRUI. And each time I come home, I bring a big piece of OSRUI back to Am Shalom. I love knowing that we are part of an even bigger Jewish community, and it fills me with Jewish joy.

The world can seem like a dark place, but knowing that we have beautiful safe places to immerse ourselves in Jewish life like OSRUI help bring me so much hope.